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BookJdri^ 



The 
New Spirit Light 



BY 

Enoch Howard 



The Spirit of God moved upon the face of 

the waters and God said, '•'■Let there 

be light y'^ and there was light. 



1903 
PRINTED FOR THE AUTHOR 



THE LIBRARY OF 
CONGRESS, 

Two Copies Received 

JUL 9 1903 

^ Copyrigiit £n^ry 
ciLASS c^ XXc. No, 

L } 8- 5 -n 

COPY B. 






Copyright, 1903, 

by 

ENOCH HOWARD. 



M 



DEDICATED 

TO 

Mary Howard James 



By her own '^soul's law" she learned 
to live. 

Her temperament of self-dependence 
was seemingly perfect. 

She was brave, charitable and always 
kind to all. 

She was a devoted Christian in the 
Baptist faith. 

Her sympathy and help was for every 
one in distress. 

She was a faithful friend, a loyal wife 
and a devoted mother. 



The 
New Spirit Light 



August 26th, 1898. 
My Dear Sister Mary : 

In answer to your good letter of the 
10th inst., I will try to give you my 
views and belief upon the very interest- 
ing subject in which you will be pleased 
to know that I have become so deeply 
interested. 

At the beginning let us call it the 
^'New Spirit Light/' after that we will 
go on and try to prove that it is at least 
a spirit light even if it is not new. 

As you know, I believe that the 
5 



6 New Spirit Light, 

''Spirit of God is the soul of man/' and 
when a human being passes from this 
earth possessed of the spirit, his or her 
soul immediately enters the kingdom 
of God, and life everlasting. All of man- 
kind who die and pass from this world 
without the gift of the Spirit of God, will 
silently fall into a never-ending sleep. 
They will alike pass from tribulation and 
from the pleasures of earth; and not to 
enjoy the spirit life of the hereafter. 

This you will see leads me to the be- 
lief that there is to be no punishment for 
the immortal soul after the dissolution 
of the natural body. And now that I 
have given you in brief my idea of the 
two conditions after death, I will try to 
give you my conception of the working 
of God's will. 

Through the light that has come to 
my heart, and brain, within the last 
forty-five years, I have been led to the 
belief that in order to become possessed 



Neav Spirit Light. 7 

of the Holy Spirit, you or I must purge 
the heart and brain of all sin and un- 
cleanness in the sight of our Creator. 
And this can only be done by fervent 
and unceasing prayer for the forgiveness 
of sins, and for some token of hght, that 
we have been ^^horn again/' and that in 
addition to heart, brain and body, we 
have been given the Spirit of God, which 
is the soul of man, and is everlasting life. 
I might go further and say that I believe 
that there comes a time, in early hfe of 
all persons, when they are impressed 
with the feeling that they are without 
the Spirit of God, and unless the brain 
and heart shall be in rebellion against all 
that is pure and good, the person thus 
impressed and affected will turn to his 
Creator, or to the only-begotten Son, 
Jesus Christ. Either in public or pri- 
vate that one must engage in prayer for 
the possession of the Holy Spirit, in or- 
der to be enrolled as a soldier of the cross 



8 New Spirit Light. 

of Christ. When the Almighty recog- 
nizes this prayer as coming from a puri- 
fied heart and brain, the petition will im- 
mediately be answered, by the gift of the 
Holy Spirit. From that moment the 
person so blessed will go forward in life 
rejoicing; and with no doubt as to the 
possession of an immortal spirit within 
him, and a full confidence in the good- 
ness of God, the Son, and the Holy 
Spirit. The prayer of this person there- 
after will not be for the forgiveness of 
sins, but will be for the guidance of the 
great Jehovah, as a true and faithful 
soldier of the cross. 

Therefore I believe that, should the 
heart and brain of man at all times in life 
stubbornly reject the proffered spirit of 
God, and deliberately elect that life shall 
end without a prayer for the spirit, then 
death will certainly be an endless sleep; 
which, to me, does really seem to be that 



New Spirit Light. 9 

punishment mentioned in the Bible, 
which I will cite later on in this letter. 

I have said that to become possessed 
of the Holy Spirit, which is the eternal 
soul of man, one must fervently pray, 
for the forgiveness of sins, and for the 
purification of the heart and brain. 
Upon the foregoing proposition I wish 
to say a few words, in explanation of the 
idea that we must pray for the forgive- 
ness of sins. You will no doubt agree 
with me, that either of us can point to 
one or more persons who feel a convic- 
tion, and know that they are without 
the Holy Spirit, according to the old, 
and by them even accepted, belief, that 
all persons are wicked sinners until they 
repent and are forgiven by the Al- 
mighty. I trust that you will agree with 
me also in this, that it is impossible for a 
young person of either sex to be sinful, if 
born of Christian parents, and has been 
surrounded by Christian influence, we 



10 New Spirit Light. 

will say, at least, up to the age of eight- 
een or twenty years. Notwithstanding 
all this, we will agree to the truth of the 
conditions set forth. The greater and 
more impressive truth still remains in 
our heart and brain, that we can find no 
relief except through prayer to Almighty 
God, or through his Son, our Saviour 
Jesus Christ. Therefore, how can any- 
one obtain the Holy Spirit except 
through prayer? The sinful person must 
pray for forgiveness, and for purification 
of heart, brain and body. The sinless 
persons, who feel that they are without 
God and his Spirit, must pray for the 
Spirit, and for some token or sign that 
they have been "born again," and have 
become possessed of an immortal spirit 
and soul. 

I must say that I have reason and 
just cause for believing that all persons 
who hve to the years of discretion, or to 
the age when they begin to reflect upon 



New Spirit Light. 11 

the future state, do, as we might say, 
involuntarily turn their thoughts to 
heaven, with a feeling and impression 
upon their heart and brain that they are 
not worthy to be received by their Cre- 
ator, into his spiritual family, beyond 
the grave. 

Thus feeling and believing, the next 
impulse of the heart naturally is to seek 
relief and light through prayer. And 
for what must they pray? The answer 
to my mind is, that they shall pray to be 
born of the Holy Spirit — that is, to be 
''born again.'' 

To make myself more clearly under- 
stood, and to get down to the basis of 
my belief, I take pleasure in quoting 
from the Scriptures for proof of the faith 
that is in me. In the gospel according 
to St. John, chapter 3, verse 3, in an- 
swer to Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews, 
Jesus answered and said unto him: 
"Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a 



12 New Spirit Light. 

man be born again, he cannot see the 
kingdom of God." This, you must ad- 
mit, is good authority, coming as it does 
from the Son of God, and should be con- 
vincing to all who give the subject care- 
ful and sincere thought. 

And, again, in St. John, Chap. 3, verse 
5, Jesus answered another question and 
said: ^'Verily, verily, I say unto thee, 
except a man be born of water and of the 
spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom 
of God.'' 

Also in the 6th verse of St. John, chap- 
ter 3, we find that Jesus said: ''That 
which is born of the flesh is flesh, and 
that which is born of the spirit is spirit.'' 

And following, in verse 7, according 
to St. John, same chapter (3) our Sav- 
iour says to Nicodemus: ''Marvel not 
that I said unto thee, ye must be born 
again." 

And now let me call your attention to 
the quotations above, which are, as you 



New Spirit Light. 13 

see, from the 5th, 6th and 7th verses of 
the third chapter of St. John. And I 
especially wish to have you very care- 
fully consider what our Saviour has said 
in the 6th verse. That certainly is 
very important evidence, going to prove 
my theory, that without the Holy Spirit, 
all there is of man ends at the grave. 
For it does seem to me to be almost con- 
clusive proof that the birth of the spirit 
comes after the birth of the body. 

My next quotation you will please 
find in St. John, chapter 3, verse 16: 
''That God so loved the world that he 
gave his only begotten Son, that who- 
soever believeth in him should not per- 
ish, but have everlasting life." 

Surely you must agree with me that 
this is a very simple proposition and is 
in the same line of teaching, from the 
Son of God, as the words quoted above : 
"Ye must be born again." 

I now quote St. John, chapter 4, 



14 New Spirit Light. 

verse 24: ''God is a spirit, and they 
that worship him must worship him in 
spirit and in truth/' 

It is written and you may have read 
it, and can recall the author's name, 
that: ''The spirit of man is influenced, 
and animated, by the Spirit of God." 

And right here I must call your atten- 
tion to my creed, or belief, which is: 
"The Spirit of God is the soul of man, 
and without the Spirit all ends at the 
grave." 

I will now follow this doctrine, with 
some more quotations, with my thoughts 
as I go along. 

In Ecclesiastes, chapter 12, verse 7: 
"Then shall the dust return to the earth 
as it was, and the spirit shall return 
unto God who gave it." This I claim 
as proof of my assertion, that without 
the Spirit of God all ends at the grave. 

Epistle of James, chapter 2, verse 26: 
"For as the body without the spirit is 



i New Spieit Light. 15 

dead, so faith without works is dead 
also.'' Therefore, if the body without 
the spirit is dead, why is it not true, that 
to inherit the kingdom of God a man 
must be born of the Holy Spirit, or 
''born again," as we have it in St. John, 
chapter 3, verse 7. I will now quote 
again from the words of our Lord, St. 
John, chapter 6, verse 47: ''Verily, 
verily, I say unto you, he that believeth 
on me hath everlasting life.'' 

My interpretation of this last verse, 
as it presents itself to my understanding, 
is, that all who believe on Jesus Christ, 
the Son of God, must also believe in 
God the Father; and thus beheving in 
God the Father, and in Christ, the Son, 
would surely lead to prayer, for the for- 
giveness of sins, for the purification of 
heart and brain, and for regeneration, and 
the gift from God, of the Holy Spirit g 
which is the soul of man. This all comes 
by simply helieving on the Son of^God. 



16 New Spirit Light. 

According to St. John, following the 
above, and in chapter 6, verse 48, Christ 
says: ''I am that bread of life.^' And 
in verse 49, you will find these words: 
''Your fathers did eat manna, in the 
wilderness, and are dead." In verse 50, 
his teaching will attract your serious at- 
tention in these words: 'This is the 
bread which cometh down from heaven. 
That a man may eat thereof and not 
die.'' 

As you will readily comprehend, the 
drift of my thoughts leads me to believe 
that the teaching of our Saviour, in the 
last three verses, quoted above (48, 49, 
50), and goes to sustain what I have al- 
ready written, in this letter, the mean- 
ing of which is to say, the Holy Spirit is 
the bread of life, which cometh down 
from heaven, that a man may partake 
thereof and not die. 

My next quotation will be the words 
of our Saviour, that are found in the 



New Spirit Light. 17 

gospel of St. John, chapter 6, verse 63, 
in this language: ''It is the spirit that 
quickeneth. The flesh profiteth noth- 
ing. The words that I speak unto you, 
they are spirit: and they are life." 

This quotation is intended to strength- 
en my theory, that the Holy Spirit is all, 
and in all, and that the flesh is not 
taken into consideration with the ever- 
lasting soul, spirit and life. For it is 
the spirit that quickeneth all things for 
eternity. 

Again, we are very naturally at- 
tracted to, and interested in, the ever 
memorable Sermon on the Mount. And 
it is with great pleasure that I present, 
for your consideration, the following 
three verses from Matthew. 

Chapter 7, verse 7: ''Ask, and it 
shall be given you; seek, and ye shall 
find ; knock, and it shall be opened unto 
you." 

And from the same chapter (7) and 



18 New Spirit Light. 

in verse 13 are these words: ''Enter 
ye in at the straight gate, for wide is the 
gate and broad is the way that leadeth 
to destruction, and many there be which 
go in thereat." 

Same chapter (7) and 14th verse: 
''Because straight is the gate and nar- 
row is the way which leadeth unto hfe, 
and few there be that find it." 

Yes, broad is the way that leadeth to 
the grave, and to everlasting sleep, 
which is surely destruction, and for all 
who depart this life without the Holy 
Spirit. "Ask and it shall be given you." 

Straight is the gate which leadeth 
unto life, and few there be that find it. 
Remember, my dear sister, we have but 
to knock, and it shall be opened unto 
us. Why there be so few that find it, 
is a mystery I believe none of us can 
solve. 

In this thought let me give you one 
verse from Paul to Titus. Chapter 3, 



New Spirit Light. 19 

verse 5. ''Not by works of righteous- 
ness which we have done, but according 
to his mercy, he saved us : by the wash- 
ing of regeneration and receiving of the 
Holy Ghost.'' 

Another verse I will give you, which 
seems to be in the same line of thought, 
and it is from Ephesians, chapter 2, 
verse 8: ''For by grace ye are saved, 
through faith: and that not of your- 
selves: it is the gift of God." 

As I understand the meaning of this 
gift of God, it is the gift of the Holy 
Spirit, and comes by the grace of our 
Creator. 

My next quotation will be a well- 
known verse found in St. Mark, chap- 
ter 16, verse 16. It reads as follows: 
"He that believeth and is baptized shall 
be saved, but he that believeth not shall 
be damned." 

Here I beg to call your attention to 
another verse which is widely different 



20 New Spirit Light. 

from the one last quoted. It is to be 
found in St. Luke, chapter 18, verse 16, 
as follows: ''But Jesus called them 
unto him and said suffer little children 
to come unto me, and forbid them not, 
for of such is the kingdom of God.'' 

It is not my purpose, in this short let- 
ter, to argue at any great length the sub- 
ject matter in the two last verses quoted 
above. In relation to the second verse 
(St. Luke, chapter 18, verse 16), where- 
in Christ our Saviour has said, "Suffer 
little children to come unto me, and for- 
bid them not, for of such is the kingdom 
of God,'' it is my firm belief that all who 
pass from earth at the age which is un- 
derstood to be below the age of discre- 
tion, are not to be held responsible to the 
Lloly Spirit for their acts and deeds, 
done in the body while on earth. There- 
fore, all these innocent children I will 
leave to the command of our Saviour 



New Spirit Light. 21 

Jesus Christ to suffer all little children 
to come unto him, and receive the Holy 
Spirit and life everlasting. 

Now, let us seriously consider for a 
few moments the latter part of the quo- 
tation above in St. Mark, chapter 16, 
verse 16, namely: '^But he that be- 
lie veth not • shall be damned.'' The 
eternal and never-ending sleep of the 
body that passes from its earthly home, 
without the gift of the Holy Spirit, 
seems to me synonymous with the dec- 
laration above quoted, and which so 
frequently occurs, in the Holy Bible, 
of eternal damnation; eternal punish- 
ment; to be cast into hell, and other 
similar statements. 

Therefore, I sincerely believe that 
there is to be no punishment after death 
except that of eternal oblivion, for all 
who have rejected and have passed into 
the grave without the gift of the Holy 
Spirit, so freely offered to them. 



22 New Spirit Light. 

And now, in closing my presentation 
of this view to you, I will add a number 
of quotations from the Scriptures which 
bear upon and sustain my doctrine of 
the ^'New Spirit Light.'' 

With them I add some comments of 
my own, as they have occurred to my 
mind. 

Truly yours in the faith, 

Enoch Howard. 



In the First Epistle of John, in chap- 
ter 2, verse 28, we read : 

^^And now little children abide in 
him, that when he shall appear, we may 
have confidence and not be ashamed 
before him at his coming." 

The foregoing verse, as it appears to 
my mind, is a hopeful and cheerful les- 
son to young children, who are fast ap- 
proaching the age of discretion, when 
they may have confidence in their Sav- 



New Spirit Light. 23 

iour, and in their own prayer to the 
Son of God, for the gift of the Holy 
Spirit, that may carry them through 
hfe here on earth, and into the kingdom 
of God beyond the grave. 

The verse which I offer here will be 
of considerable interest when taken in 
connection with the verse cited above. 
It is from St. John, chapter 3, verse 3, 
wherein our Saviour, answers a ques- 
tion from Nicodemus, saying: ''Ex- 
cept a man be born again, he cannot see 
the kingdom of God.'' 

Following this you will find the verse 
referred to: 

First Epistle of John, Ch. 3, v. 9: 

''Whosoever is born of God doth not 
commit sin; for his seed remaineth in 
him, and he cannot sin, because he is 
born of God." 

Your serious attention is called to the 
verse quoted above, as it is of great and 
living importance to all persons who 



24 New Spirit Light. 

have, through prayer, received the Spirit 
of God ; that is,who have been born again. 
For further reference the following 
quotation from St. Matthew may be of 
interest, as showing what Christ our Sav- 
iour has said. It is to be remembered, 
when we are considering the eternal 
welfare of little children who pass from 
earth into the presence of our heavenly 
Father. 

St. Matthew, Ch. 18, v. 3: 

''And said, verily, I say unto you, 
except ye be converted, and become as 
little children, ye shall not enter into 
the kingdom of heaven.'' 

St. Matthew, Ch. 18, v. 4: 

''Whosoever, therefore, shall humble 
himself as this little child, the same is 
greatest in the kingdom of heaven.'' 

St. Matthew, Ch. 18, v. 5: 
"And whoso shall receive one such 
little child in my name receive th me." 



New Spirit Light. 25 

Now let us return to the consideration 
of the Holy Spirit once more, and we will 
quote from the good old gospel accord- 
ing to St. Matthew. 

St. Matthew, Ch. 12, v. 28: 

''But if I cast out devils by the Spirit 
of God, then the kingdom of God is 
come unto you." 

As I read the meaning of the above 
verse, it is to say that if Christ our Sav- 
iour should cast out of our hearts the 
evil spirit (of the devil), then why 
would we not be born of the Holy 
Spirit, or ''born again," as we have it 
thus in the Holy Bible : 

If this be true, then the kingdom of 
God is come unto us, as we have been 
born of the Holy Spirit, by the grace of 
God, through his beloved Son Jesus 
Christ. 

In addition to the above matter we 
will go on to the next question, which 
is from 



26 New Spirit Light. 

St. Matthew, Ch. 12, verse 31: 

''Wherefore, I say unto you, all man- 
ner of sin and blasphemy shall be for- 
given unto men, but the blasphemy 
against the Holy Ghost (Spirit) shall 
not be forgiven unto men.'' 

Special attention is called to the above 
verse 31, chapter 12, as it is my sincere 
belief that if a man be born of the Holy 
Spirit, he cannot blaspheme or sin 
against the Spirit of God. 

If true (as I firmly believe) ''that the 
Spirit of God is the soul of man," then 
how can a man utter blasphemy against 
his own soul? That, to me, seems im- 
possible. 

In the same line of thought or argu- 
ment I am pleased to offer for your con- 
sideration a verse from St. Matthew, 
which you will readily recognize, as 
follows : 

St. Matthew, Ch. 16, v. 26: 
. "For what is a man profited, if he 



New Spirit Light. 27 

shall gain the whole world and lose his 
own soul? Or what shall a man give in 
exchange for his own soul?" 

Another verse from St. Matthew 
which we will consider, is 

St. Matthew, Ch. 10, v. 28: 

''And fear not them which kill the 
body, but are not able to kill the soul; 
but rather fear him which is able to de- 
stroy both soul and body in hell." 

No, we will not fear them which kill 
the body but are not able to kill the 
soul or Spirit of God. Nor will we fear 
our Creator, nor his Son Jesus Christ, 
who has said to us that we only have 
to ask and the Holy Spirit shall be 
given to us. Besides, the word kill, as 
I beheve, is intended to represent eter- 
nity in the grave for all persons who re- 
ject the kindly offer of the Holy Spirit. 
Therefore ''ye must be born again." 

Now, let me introduce another quo- 
tation from St. Matthew: 



28 New Spirit Light. 

Ch. 12, V. 18. 

'^ Behold my servant, whom I have 
chosen, my beloved, in whom my soul 
is well pleased. I will put my spirit 
upon him, and he shall shew judgment 
unto the Gentiles." 

Again I find proof that the ''Spirit 
of God is the soul of man,'^ for Christ 
has said in the above verse that he 
would put his spirit upon his servant, 
so that the servant in whom Christ is 
well pleased shall show judgment and 
preach unto the Gentiles. 

''And in his name shall the Gentiles 
trust. '^ 

. The verse which I now wish to intro- 
duce to your notice may be a repetition 
of chapter 7, verse 7, in the gospel of St. 
Matthew. But it will have a tendency 
to show the grace of our Saviour. 
Therefore I quote the verse from 

St. Matthew, Ch. 7, v. 8: 

"For every one that asketh receive th; 



New Spirit Light. 29 

and he that seeketh findeth; and to him 
that knocketh it shall be opened." 

St. Matthew, Ch. 10, v. 20 also says: 
^'For it is not ye that speak, but the 
Spirit of your Father which speaketh 
in you." 

This paper will not be complete 
without a word from St. John the Di- 
vine, in his Revelation. Therefore I 
will quote one verse for your contem- 
plation. It will be found in 

The Revelation, Ch. 1, v. 8: 

''I am alpha and omega, the begin- 
ning and the ending, saith the Lord, 
which is, and which was, and which is 
to come, the Almighty." 

The following verse is always inter- 
esting to me: 

IPeter, Ch. 1, V. 23: 

''Being born again, not of corruptible 
seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of 
God, which live th and abide th forever." 



30 New Spirit Light. 

Yes, the ''word of God" is the Spirit 
of God, without which all ends at the 
grave ! 

We will quote once more from 

1 Peter, Ch. 1, v. 24: 

"For all flesh is as grass, and all the 
glory of man as the flower of grass. The 
grass withereth and the flower thereof 
fadeth away." 

1 Peter, Ch. 1, v. 25: 

''But the word of the Lord endure th 
forever. And this is the word which by 
the gospel is preached unto you." 



The word of God, which is the "Spirit 
of God," endure th forever. This is the 
spirit which by the gospel is preached 
unto us all. 

Now we will go back to the beginning 
and quote a few words from Genesis. 



New Spirit Light. 31 

Ch. 1, V. 1: 

''In the beginning God created the 
heaven and the earth." 

Genesis, Ch. 1, v. 2: 

''And the earth was without form, 
and void: and darkness was upon 
the face of the deep. And the Spirit 
of God moved upon the face of the 
waters." 

Truly the Spirit of God is the soul of 
man, and is life everlasting in the king- 
dom of heaven. It not only moves 
upon the face of the waters, but it 
moves upon the face of the earth, and 
upon the face of the sun, moon and 
stars. 

The next quotation you will find in 
the general epistle of James, "a servant 
of God," and of the Lord Jesus Christ. 
It reads as follows: 

Epistle of James, Ch. 1, v. 5: 

"If any of you lack wisdom, let him 



32 New Spirit Light. 

ask of God, who giveth to all men lib- 
erally, and upbraideth not; and it shall 
be given him." 

See, also Epistle of James, Ch. 1, v. 6: 

''But let him ask in faith, nothing 
wavering. For he that wavereth is like 
a wave of the sea driven with the wind 
and tossed." 

The above quotations of verses 5 and 
6, from St. James, I wish to offer as a 
guiding light, to all persons who seek 
wisdom and the Spirit of God, through 
prayer, that they may not waver. 

I will now call your special attention 
to verse 31 and 32, in St. Matthew, as 
follows : 

"But as touching the resurrection of 
the dead, have ye not read, that which 
was spoken unto you by God, saying: 

"I am the God of Abraham, and the 
God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. 
God is not the God of the dead, but of 
the living." 



New Spirit Light. 33 

Yes, God is the father of the ever- 
lasting spirit, and not of the body that 
has returned to dust from whence it 
came, because it was not ''born again, '^ 
of the Holy Spirit, while on earth. 
Truly Christ hath said unto all: ''Ye 
must be born again." 

We read in St. John, Ch. 11, v. 25: 

"Jesus said unto her, I am the resur- 
rection and the life. He that belie veth 
in me, though he were dead, yet shall 
he live.'' 

Yea, he may be dead in sin, and blas- 
phemy, and yet shall he live, through 
the word and promise of our Saviour 
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and solely 
by the granting of the Holy Spirit. 

St. John, Ch. 11, V. 26: 

"And whosoever liveth and belie veth in 
me shall never die . Belie vest thou this V 

The foregoing short verse is offered to 
corroborate verse 25, in St. John, as 
given above. 



34 New Spirit Light. • 

TheActs, Ch. 2, V. 4: 

''And they were all filled with the 
Holy Ghost and began to speak with 
other tongues, as the Spirit gave them 
utterance." 

The preceding verse, 4, represents the 
descent of the Holy Spirit (Ghost) on 
the apostles, and they were born again. 

TheActs, Ch. 5, v. 32: 

''And we are his witnesses of these 
things; and so is also the Holy Ghost 
(Spirit) whom God hath given to them 
that obey him." 

In above verse 32, Chapter 5 of the 
Acts, as you will observe, there seems 
to me to be convincing proof of the doc- 
trine that the "Spirit of God is the soul 
of man." 

The next quotation from St. Paul to 
the Romans will be offered as additional 
proof of the faith that is in me. 

St. Paul to the Romans, Ch. 5, v. 5: 

"And hope maketh not ashamed, be- 



New Spirit Light. 35 

cause the love of God is shed abroad in 
our hearts by the Holy Ghost (Spirit) 
which is given unto us." 

Why should mortal man be ashamed 
to hope for the love of God, the Holy 
Spirit and immortality? 

St. Paul to the Romans, Ch. 6, v. 7 : 
.''For he that is dead is freed from 
sin.'' 

My answer to preceding observation 
in verse 7 is. Yes; for if he die rejecting 
the Holy Spirit, then with him all ends 
at the grave. 

St. Paul to the Romans, Ch. 6, v. 23: 

'Tor the wages of sin is death, but the 
gift of God is eternal life, through Jesus 
Christ our Lord.'' 

Yes, the wages of sin is death, the 
grave and eternal oblivion. 

But remember, "the gift of God is 
eternal life," and our Saviour has said, 
"Every one that asketh, receive th." 
Then why continue in sin unto death? 



36 New Spirit Light. 

The next quotation you will also find 
in St. Paul to the Romans, and along 
the hnp of thought with verse 23, quoted 
above. 

St. Paul to the Romans, Ch. 8, v. 2: 
''For the law of the spirit of life in 
Christ Jesus hath made me free from the 
law of sin and death.'' 

St. Paul to the Romans, Ch. 8, v. 11 : 
''But if the spirit of him that raised 
up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he 
that raised up Christ from the dead shall 
also quicken your mortal bodies by his 
spirit that dwelleth in you." 
You will also please find in — 

St. Paul to the Romans, Ch. 8, v. 10: 
"And if Christ be in you, the body is 
dead because of sin; but the spirit is 
life, because of righteousness." 

St. Paul to the Romans, Ch. 8, V. 14: 
"For as many as are led by the Spirit 
of God, they are the sons of God." 



New Spirit Light. 37 

St. Paul to Romans, Ch. 10. v. 9: 
r '^That if thou shalt confess with thy 
mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe 
in thine heart that God hath raised him 
from the dead, thou shalt be saved.'' 

The foregoing quotations, found in 
Chapters 8 and 10, and verses 11, 10, 14 
and 9 of St. Paul to the Romans, are 
quite full of spirit life, and life of the 
body, and I must say that it is my firm 
belief that the life of the body and the 
spirit life are two separate and distinct 
creations, and both are the gift of Al- 
mighty God. 

St. Matthew, Ch. 18, v. 4: 

''Whosoever, therefore, shall humble 
himself as this little child, the same 
is greatest in the kingdom of heaven." 

The above verse, 4, seems to be easily 
understood, and it is clear to my mind. 
Any person who feels constrained to 
approach the throne of grace, mercy and 
love must do so ''as this little child.'' 



38 New Spirit Light. 

St. Matthew, Ch. 18, V. 5: 

''And whoso receive th one such Httle 
child in my name receive th me.'^ 

In verse 5, above, you will please note 
the saving grace intended for children 
under the years (understood to be) of 
discretion. See St. Luke, Ch. 18, v. 16. 
But Jesus called them unto him, and 
said, ''Suffer little children to come unto 
me and forbid them not ; for of such is 
the kingdom of God." 

St. Matthew, Ch. 21, V. 22: 

"And all things whatsoever ye shall 
ask in prayer, believing, ye shall re- 
ceive." 

These few words in verse 22 are from 
our Saviour, Jesus Christ, the Son of 
God, and who has said that to enter into 
the kingdom of God "Ye must be born 
again," — that is, to say, born of the 
Spirit of God, "which is the soul of man." 

St. Matthew, Ch. 22, V. 37: 

"Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love 



New Spirit Light. , 39 

the Lord thy God with all thy heart, 
and with all thy soul, and with all thy 
mind.'^ 

St. Matthew, Ch. 22, v. 38: 
'This is the first and great command- 
ment." 

St. Matthew, Ch. 22, V. 39: 
''And the second is like unto it, Thou 
shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." 

St. Matthew, Ch. 22, v. 40: 

"On these two commandments hang 
all the law and the prophets." 

The above quotations from St. Mat- 
thew, Ch. 22, vs. 37, 38, 39, and 40 go 
to prove the doctrine of our Saviour, 
and lead up to the declaration that ye 
must be born again. See St. John, 
chapter 3, verse 3: 

"Jesus answered and said unto him. 
Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except 
a man be born again, he cannot see the 
kingdom of God." 



40 New Spirit Light. 

Genesis, Ch. 6, v. 3: 

And the Lord said, my spirit shall not 
always strive with men, for that he also 
is flesh, yet his days shall be an hundred 
and twenty years.'' 

In answer to the acceptation, and 
sense of the above quoted verse 3, in 
chapter 6 of Genesis, I will give verse 
7, chapter 12, from Ecclesiastes, which 
reads as follows: 

''Then shall the dust return to the 
earth as it was, and the spirit shall re- 
turn unto God who gave it.'' 

The Lord will not wait always for a 
prayer from man, to grant the Holy 
Spirit, so freely offered. 

Proverbs, Ch. 21, v. 16: 

'The man that wandereth out of the 
way of understanding shall remain in 
the congregation of the dead." 

That is, I should say, he that is not 
born of the spirit (born again), "Then 



New Spirit Light. 41 

shall the dust return to the earth as it 
was.'^ 

St. Luke, Ch. 12, v. 21: 

'^So is he that layeth up treasure for 
himself, and is not rich toward God.'' 

Instead of offering an opinion on the 
above verse 21, I desire to introduce as 
evidence the following verse 24, from 
the Gospel of St. John: 

St. John, Ch. 5, v. 24: 

''Verily, verily, I say unto you, he 
that heareth my word, and beheveth 
on him that sent me, hath everlasting 
life, and shall not come into condemna- 
tion, but is passed from death unto life." 

St. John, Ch. 5, V. 29: 

' 'And shall come forth, they that have 
done good, unto the resurrection of life, 
and they that have done evil unto the 
resurrection of damnation." 

Yea, verily, all who are born of the 
Holy Spirit come forth to the kingdom 



42 New Spirit Light. 

of God, and to life eternal. All who 
have refused to seek the Holy Spirit 
shall come forth to eternal death and 
oblivion in the grave. 

Ezekiel, Ch. 18, v. 28: 

^'Because he considereth, and turneth 
away from all his transgressions, that 
he hath committed, he shall surely live," 
and shall not die." 

I am pleased to call attention to the 
above verse 28, from the prophet Eze- 
kiel, as it seems to clearly explain itself. 
Notwithstanding, I wish to add the fol- 
lowing verse from St. Paul to the Ephe- 
sians, to be found in chapter 2, verse 8. 
It reads as follows: ^'For by grace ye 
are saved, through faith; and that 
not of yourselves. It is the gift of 
God." 

Ezekiel, Ch. 18, v. 31: 
''Cast away from you all your trans- 
gressions, whereby ye have trans- 



New Spirit Light. 43 

gressed, and make you a new heart and 
a new spirit ; for why will ye die; house 
of Israel?^^ 

Then, why trespass and lose the 
Spirit of God, and life everlasting, and 
be consigned to the grave, which is 
eternal obliteration, when we are thus 
asked by the prophet to that which is 
so easy and just? 

Ezekiel, Ch. 18, v. 32: 

'Tor I have no pleasure in the death 
of him that dieth, saith the Lord God: 
wherefore turn yourselves and live ye/^ 

Therefore, as the Lord God hath called 
all to return and not die, why not seek 
the Holy Spirit, and live forever? Ap- 
pended hereunto please find a guide for 
your seeking ; and it is from the Gospel 
of St. Matthew, chapter 7, verse 7, where 
it is written as follows: ''Ask, and it 
shall be given you; seek, and ye shall 
find; knock, and it shall be opened unto 
you." 



44 New Spirit Light. 

St. Paul to Romans, Ch. 15, v. 30: 

^^Now I beseech you, brethren, for the 
Lord Jesus Christ's sake, or for the love 
of the Spirit, that ye strive together 
with me in your prayers to God for me." 

Yea, verily, that we may all strive 
together, in prayer and supplication, 
to the Lord God Almighty, for the birth 
of the Holy Spirit within us, and for life 
everlasting. 

The First Epistle of Paul to the Co- 
rinthians, Ch. 2, V. 11: 

'Tor what man knoweth the things 
of a man, save the spirit of a man, which 
is in him, even so the things of God 
knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.'' 

In answer to above verse, 11 chapter 
2, permit me to repeat that which ap- 
pears near the beginning of these writ- 
ings: ''The Spirit of God is the soul of 
man, and without the Spirit, all ends at 
the grave." Therefore, "ask, and it 
shall be given you." Moreover, there 



New Spirit Light. 45 

is the promise, ''Everyone that asketh 
receiveth/' To enter into the kingdom 
of heaven, ''you must be born again, '^ 
that is, "born of the Holy Spirit." 

St. Paul to the Corinthians, 1st Epis- 
tle, Ch. 15, V. 46: 

"Howbeit that was not first which 
is sphitual, but that which is natural; 
and afterward that which is spiritual." 

In answer to above verse 46 I will say, 
please turn to the third verse in chapter 
3 of the gospel of St. John. There you 
will read the following words from our 
Saviour: "Verily, verily, I say unto 
thee, except a man be born again, he 
cannot see the kingdom of God." 

St. Matthew, Ch. 25, v. 46: 

"And these shall go away into ever- 
lasting punishment; but the righteous 
into life eternal." 

You will please allow me to answer 
the above quotation of verse 46, from 
St. Matthew, with another quotation 



46 New Spirit Light. 

which is found in the book of Ecclesi- 
astes . It is in these words : ' ' Then shall 
the dust return to the earth as it was." 

Yes, 'Hhese shall go away/' into the 
grave, and everlasting sleep and oblivion. 

1st Epistle of St. Paul to Corinthians : 
Ch. 15, V. 51: "Behold, I shew you a 
mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we 
shall all be changed." 

No, we shall not all sleep in the grave 
throughout eternity, for we are prom- 
ised that whosoever believeth in the Son 
of God '^ shall not perish, but have ever- 
lasting life." 

St. Luke, Ch. 11, v. 10: 

'Tor every one that asketh receive th. 
And he that seeketh findeth, and to him 
that knocketh it shall be opened." 

Then for what shall we ask, or what 
shall we seek, except it be the Spirit of 
Almighty God? It is to be born again, 
and thereby enter the kingdom of 
heaven. 



New Spirit Light. 47 

First Epistle of Paul to Corinthians, 
Ch. 2, V. 14: 

''But the natural man receive th not 
the things of the Spirit of God : for they 
are foolishness unto him : neither can he 
know them, because they are spiritually 
discerned/' 

Yes, all spiritual things seem as fool- 
ishness to the natural man, that is, to 
the man or to all men who have not been 
''born of the Holy Spirit," nor can 
he know that which is spiritually dis- 
cerned. 

St. Paul to Corinthians, Ch. 2, v. 15: 
"But he that is spiritual judgeth all 
things, yet he himself is judged of no 
man." 

He that is born of the Holy Spirit by 
the grace of God should be an able judge 
of spiritual things; but a man without 
the Holy Spirit cannot be a just judge 
of spiritual things. 



48 New Spirit Light. 

We will now call attention to the fol- 
lowing, which is from the gospel ac- 
cording to St. Luke: 

St. Luke, Ch. 4, v. 14: 

''And Jesus returned in the power 
of the Spirit into Galilee, and there went 
out a fame of him through all the region 
round about." 

St. Luke, Ch. 4, V. 17: 

''And there was deHvered unto him 
the book of the prophet Esaias, and 
when he had opened the book, he found 
the place where it was written : 

St. Luke, Ch. 4, V. 18: 

"The spirit of the Lord is upon me, 
because he hath anointed nie to preach 
the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me 
to heal the brokenhearted, to preach de- 
liverance to the captives, and recover- 
ing of sight to the blind, to set at liberty 
them that are bruised." 

The above quotations from St. Paul 



New Spirit Light. 49 

give me additional evidence that '^the 
Spirit of God is the soul of man/' So 
that I feel my belief to be sustained 
throughout the Holy Scripture. 

Bookof Job, Ch. 34, V. 14: 

''If he set his heart upon man, if he 
gather unto himself his spirit and his 
breath.'' 

If the Lord shall set his heart upon 
man, and gather unto himself the spirit 
of that man, and also his breath (which 
is to say, the body of the man), then 
believe this to be the true interpretation 
of above verse, No. 14. I would also 
call attention to the following, from the 
book of Job: 

Bookof Job, Ch. 34, V. 15: 

''All flesh shall perish together and 
man shall turn again unto dust." 

For a concluding argument to verse 
14, and 15, in chapter 34, of Job, quoted 
above, you are referred to Ecclesiastes, 



50 New Spirit Light. 

chapter 12, verse 7, which reads as fol- 
lows: ''Then shall the dust return to 
the earth as it was, and the spirit shall 
return unto God who gave it." 

For further proof in the same line of 
argument, please find quotation from 
Epistle of James, chapter 2, verse 26, 
as follows: 'Tor as the body without 
the spirit is dead, so faith without works 
is dead also." 

Paul to Corinthians, Ch. 2, v. 16: 

"For who hath known the mind 
of the Lord, that he may instruct him? 
But we have the mind of Christ." 

Yes, we have the mind and the word 
of our Saviour Christ, as follows, St. 
Luke, chapter 18, v. 16: "But Jesus 
called them unto him, and said, suffer 
little children to come unto me, and for- 
bid them not, for of such is the kingdom 
of God." 

And again, in St. John, we have his 
word to Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 



New Spirit Light. 51 

Chapter 3, verse 3: ''Jesus answered 
and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say 
unto thee, except a man be born again, 
he cannot see the kingdom of God.'^ 

Now, as a concluding summary to the 
foregoing comments and quotations, I 
offer the following special extracts, in 
support of my belief, and then I leave 
the subject for your own conscience 
and intelligence before the promises of 
God. 



CHIEF POINTS OF BELIEF, 
AS SET FORTH IN THIS BOOK. 



The Spirit of God is the soul of man. 
Without the Spirit all ends at the grave. 

St. John, Ch. 3, V. 3: 

''Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except 



52 New Spirit Light. 

a man be born again he cannot see the 
kingdom of God." 

Ecclesiastes, Ch. 12, v. 7: 

'Then shall the dust return to the 
earth as it was. And the spirit shall re- 
turn unto God who gave it." 

St. Luke, Ch. 18, v. 16: 

''Suffer little children to come unto 
me and forbid them not, for of such is 
the kingdom of God." 

The birth of the body, and the birth 
of the spirit, are two separate and dis- 
tinct creations. 

The death of the body, without the 
Holy Spirit, is everlasting oblivion— 
"dust to dust." 

If a man be born of the Holy Spirit 
(which is the soul of man), how can he 
blaspheme? That would be blasphemy 
against his own soul. An impossibility! 

St. John, Ch. 3, V. 6: 

"That which is born of the flesh is 



New Spirit Light. 53 

flesh. And that which is born of the 
spirit is spirit." 

St. John, Ch. 3, V. 7: 
'' Marvel not that I said unto thee, ye 
must be born again.'' 



JUL. 9 1903 



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